Last weekend was a trifecta in Avebury. First and foremost is that I got to spend time relaxing with my beloved. Not something that we have had the luxury of doing much of in the last ten years.Added to that is the bonus of standing stones! Avebury is unusual because it is a village in the midst of a stone circle, well three stone circles, really. It is a very large circle that contains two smaller ones. There is not much left of the smaller circles, but there is a fair number of stones from the larger one still standing. And the henge is just stunning.
Nearby there is the largest prehistoric structure in Europe, Sidbury Hill, and a little further on, West Kennet Long Barrow. The remains were removed some time ago and it has been left open for us to go in. I am not pleased that the burial site was desecrated. But I could not resist stepping inside a structure built 5500 years ago. I beg the forgiveness of the ancestors of that land for my trespass. I tread with as much respect and reverence as I could muster,
fully aware of the hypocrisy of this statement in face of my treading at all. I cannot imagine I will ever get to see the inside of something so old again. I am picturing the people who occasionally returned to the tomb over the centuries of its operation whether to add more dead, or to honour them, or to assign them a duty, or some other reason we cannot fathom.And if that wasn't enough, I got to try two (new to me) Wiltshire ales: Avebury Well Water and Wadworth Amber.
Me and a stone: My beloved
Avebury by air: English Heritage
Barrow interior: Wikimedia
